Senior Kylie Greischar and the stout Nebraska defense look to shut down the IU offense

Photo Courtesy Nate Olsen/Nebraska Communications

Courtesy: NU Athletic Communications

11/07/2013

Lincoln – The top-seeded Nebraska soccer program continues its march toward the 2013 Big Ten Tournament title in Champaign on Friday, Nov. 8 with a semifinal match slated for 1:30 p.m. against No. 4 seed Indiana. The Huskers will face the Hoosiers for the second time in a week as NU looks to capture its first Big Ten Tournament Championship and first tournament title since 2002.

Friday’s first match with feature No. 3 seeded Penn State against the No. 7 seed Iowa at 11 a.m. Both semifinal and championship matches will be televised live on the Big Ten Network along with streaming on BTN2Go.com.

Be sure to follow the NU soccer team on Twitter at @NebraskaSoccer or ‘like’ Nebraska Soccer on Facebook to join in on the conversation.

Conroy’s Two Goals Leads NU over MinnesotaNebraska overcame an early Minnesota goal in the first minute of play to rally with four unanswered tallies as the Huskers advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals with a decisive 4-1 victory on Wednesday. Mayme Conroy celebrated her birthday as she recorded a pair of goals for the third time this season and fifth time of her career. The Omaha, Neb. native now has racked up 25 career goals and is currently tied for the team lead with ten this year.

Nebraska scored four goals in a match for the fourth time this season as seniors Jordan Jackson and Stacy Bartels found the back of the net for Nebraska. The 4-1 victory is the first win in the Big Ten Tournament for Nebraska since joining the conference three years ago as the Huskers possess their second seven-game win streak of the year for only the third time in program history (1999 and 2000).

Nebraska NotesThe 18th-ranked Huskers (16-3-1, 10-1 Big Ten) are on a seven-game win streak and have won 14 of its last 15 matches for the first time since 2000 when NU rattled off 22 of its first 23 matches. NU has now scored in 17 consecutive matches, its longest streak since 2000 when Nebraska scored in its first 23 contests.

The Scarlet and Cream are 13-0-1 when scoring 2 or more goals this season and 11-0-1 when scoring first. The Huskers have set the tone early in Big Ten matches and hold an 11-2 lead in first-half scoring against B1G foes, with the lone goals allowed at Wisconsin on Oct. 18 at the 30-minute mark and a score 39 seconds into the B1G Quarterfinals on Wednesday against Minnesota.

Nebraska allowed just 21 goals in 20 matches during this season, outscoring opponents by a 45-21 margin. The NU defense has been impressive on its way to a 27-11 scoring advantage against league opponents especially considering Big Ten opponents have had 25 more corner kick opportunities (69-43). In Big Ten action, NU has been outshot 210-160 but lead in shots on goal by a 76-69 margin, a true testament to the Nebraska defense as they routinely stonewall conference foes when quality scoring chances arise.

The Huskers have not outshot its opposition in the last 12 matches but the defensive unit has become a story on its own and a key part of Nebraska’s success this season. In the regular season, Nebraska won ten conference matches for the second time in school history (1999) and registered 15 wins for the first time since 2002.

This season is the first time with four conference shutouts since 2002 when the Big Red finished with 14 total shutouts, including 11 in the regular season. The six shutouts for the Huskers this year are the most since 2005, which included the postseason. The last time NU notched six regular-season shutouts was also 2002.

The Scarlet and Cream are 62-23-12 in nine seasons of action at the Nebraska Soccer Field and currently 18-13 in three seasons of Big Ten competition.

Johnson Blasts Huskers by PSU in 2OTNU earned a memorable 3-2 double-overtime victory over then-No. 16 Penn State thanks to a Jaycie Johnson run and strike from 20 yards. The victory snapped Penn State’s 15-year Big Ten title reign and was NU’s first win over PSU in three tries.

Husker Dominant on DefenseSenior Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Ari Romero (91.3 mpg), Maritza Hayes (played every second in nine of last 11 matches) and Kylie Greischar (79.7 mpg) along with junior Sam Areman and sophomore Jaylyn Odermann have keyed the NU defense. Although these defenders seldom find the stat sheet, their contributions on the field have been a major factor on this year’s NU squad.

Stevens Finishing StrongNU senior goalkeeper Emma Stevens earned her 34th career victory and single-season career-best 16th win of the year in net after posting four saves in Wednesday's quarterfinal victory. Emma guided NU to a title-clinching win over Indiana last Friday. More notably, Stevens capped the scoring for the Huskers with a dropkick that evaded the IU keeper on a high bounce that found the back of the net for the first score by a Nebraska keeper in school history. Stevens was named All-Big Ten Second Team.

On Oct. 20, Emma Stevens surpassed former Husker Erin Miller (239) to become the all-time leader in saves at Nebraska. The graduate student sits alone in first with 261 career stops. Stevens is near the top of several all-time NU goalkeeping categories, including second in minutes played (5,862), starts (65) and game played (69), while ranking third in wins (34) and sixth in shutouts (8.3).

Huskers Conference Tournament HistoryNebraska has a 19-10 overall record in conference tournament matches, including five titles. Since 2003, the Huskers have gone 3-8 and earned its first Big Ten Tournament victory in the 4-1 Quarterfinal win over Minnesota.

The Huskers won in Champaign for the first time earlier this season on Sept. 29 with a 3-2 victory over Illinois. Prior to 2013, NU had lost its previous three trips to play the Illini, who host this year’s B1G Tournament.

Last Time Out vs. IndianaThe No. 1 seed Huskers will face the No. 4 seed Hoosiers in the Semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska took down Indiana 3-1 just one week ago (Nov. 1) in Lincoln as the Huskers claimed their first Big Ten Championship. Nebraska leads the all-time series 3-1 against Indiana.

Statistically, the match was a dead heat as the Huskers and Hoosiers both put up 10 shots and four on target. Nebraska took a 1-0 lead when Conroy struck from 12 yards out from Jackson as NU took the advantage into the break. IU’s Nouanesengsy earned a PK less than two minutes into the second half to take away NU’s momentum.

In the 67th minute, Johnson finished off a sliding attempt on a cross from fellow freshman Claassen for the 2-1 lead. In windy conditions in the 85th minute, goalkeeper Emma Stevens gave Nebraksa insurance as she punted a ball that landed just outside the 18 and evaded the Indiana goalkeeper for the first Husker score by a keeper in school history as the Huskers earned its first regular-season conference title since 2000 and first with the Big Ten.

Scouting IndianaIndiana (14-5-1, 6-5 Big Ten) scored five goals in the B1G Quarterfinals to down Illinois 5-3. The 14 wins matches the IU single-season record set back in 1998 and is the first conference tournament win since 1996. IU is led by senior Lisa Nouanesengsy’s 11 goals and three assists.

Jackson - B1G Midfielder of the YearJordan Jackson has been heating up as she has recorded goals in six of her last eight matches and notched points in eight of her last nine. Jackson’s 35th career tally ranks eighth among all-time Husker goal scorers, while her 27 assists is tied for seventh best in program history.

Jackson has earned a point in 13 of her last 17 matches and is third in conference regular season matches with 17 points. On the all-time lists at Nebraska, Jackson is fifth in shots (257), sixth in shots on goal (129) as well as ninth in points (97) and 10th in game-winning goals (9) all-time at NU.

Back on Oct. 11 at Purdue, Jackson’s five-point output marked the fifth time Jackson has amassed five points in a single match during her career. The Overland Park, Kan. native recorded three assists in the 4-0 road victory for the second time in her career at Nebraska and is the fifth Husker to have three second-half helpers. The three-time all-conference honoree is the 17th Husker to earn at least three assists in one match.

2013 Big Ten Champions“Big Ten Champs!” - A preseason goal that evolved into a rallying cry for the Nebraska soccer team became a reality on Friday as the Huskers claimed its first 2013 Big Ten Conference title, their first regular-season championship since 2000.

The preseason Big Ten coaches poll put Nebraska at No. 9 but the players had different plans. At the start of spring camp, the goal was to win the league as they ended each practice with the phrase “Big Ten Champs!” On Friday, the Huskers accomplished their goal with a 3-1 Senior Day victory followed by a trophy celebration on Nov. 1 over Indiana.

Goals from Mayme Conroy, Jaycie Johnson and goalkeeper Emma Stevens gave NU a historic victory on a wet and windy day in Lincoln.

The Huskers finished with a 10-1 Big Ten record, the most league wins for NU since 1999 en route to its fourth regular-season title in program history. Nebraska won regular season titles in 1996, 1999 and 2000, while taking home tournament titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002.

Leading at the Break?Nebraska is 207-5-5 all-time when leading at the half. In 32 all-time Big Ten Conference games, the Huskers have led at the half just 12 times, but are 9-0 this year in the conference holding halftime leads.

The Huskers only trailed for a total of 65:13 in 11 regular-season conference matches this season as NU trailed in just two matches during Big Ten play. In 1,731:41 of action this season, Nebraska trailed for just 249:03.